Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – c. 1596) was an English explorer of the Elizabethan era. Queen Elizabeth I awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581 after being sent on a mission to locate the fabled city of Iram. He later faked his death so that he could search for the lost treasure of El Dorado. Nathan Drake believes himself to be the descendant of Francis Drake.

Contents

Francis Drake belonged to a secret Hermetic society, headed by Queen Elizabeth. The society included many notable members, including but not limited to: the British Occult Secret Service, the School of Night, the Hellfire Club, the Order of the Golden Dawn, John Dee, Francis Walsinghassive hideout which connected with the rest of the underground tunnanother mission to circumnavigate the globe. Drake reached the Arabian Peninsula after exiting the East Indies, and in trying to find Iram, discovered a chamber of sorts underneath Yemen (via a well with a pentagram-esque symbol). He sketched the controls to open the way to the cistern on the back of his map and wrote the message "The moon will show the way" in Enochian script on the walls should future explorers try to find Iram. He proceeded into the chamber; what he saw (presumably the effects of the tainted water from Ubar, though how it could be there in the first place is unknown) was enough for him to stop his secret mission altogether. Drake then realized that the water was what the Queen wanted. He wrote 6 messages (in English) on the walls of the chamber before leaving:

Let not the world deceive thee with its beauty,It is the dream of a dreamer, a mirage of the desert,The cup of death will be filled for thee,The devil adorneth it for man until death,Their wealth did not save them,What has become of the rulers of the Earth.

After returning from his trip, he lied to the Queen and told her he didn't find anything on his voyage. By doing this, the society he, the Queen & many others were part of did not have the means to control through fear. Essentially, he rewrote history, as countless people in the future would believe his saying of how it took him 6 months to sail through the East Indies when a month was more likely, given his sailing skills. Regardless of Drake's "failure", he was knighted and given a ring by the Queen, inscribed with the motto "Sic Parvis Magna" (translated as 'greatness from small beginnings'). He hid all traces of his voyage, by hiding the map of his trip to Arabia (which was signed by John Dee in a 007 mark) in the deer figurehead of his ship, the Golden Hind. Dee created a decoder (which looked like an astrolabe) which when joined with Drake's ring, would reveal the message 'Long Hidden', an anagram for Golden Hind; the reasons for this are unknown. His ship was also broken down, as a chair in Buckland Abbey is made out of the wood of his ship.

Francis Drake faked his death on the 28th of January 1596, and the coffin that was buried at sea contained only his diary. On the 29th of January he had the date inscribed on his ring as a clue to any future treasure hunters who would follow him. Also engraved on the ring were the co-ordinates of his empty coffin off the coast of Panama. He then travelled to a Pacific island where the Spaniards hid El Dorado.

On the island, Drake learned of the curse of El Dorado and destroyed the ships that had brought him there, in an attempt to stop the treasure from leaving the island. He then returned to the treasure vault where he wrote his final message to the world:My end is near. The devils hunt for me in the darkness. The gold of El Dorado bears a terrible curse. The Spaniards have unleashed hell, and become as demons. My men have all been mudered, leaving the task to me alone. No ship will depart this island. I destroyed them all. Drowned the cursed city. A thing of such great evil must never leave these shores. In my final hour, I commend my soul to God. May he have mercy on this unholy place.

Drake's map was outlined with Sabean script; this was unusual since Sabean symbols were used by the ancient Arabian peoples and nomads. The most probable reason for this would be that Dee outlined the map with the symbols, given as he traced the clues back to the Crusades.

The other possible reason is that the map was actually a map from Yemen, and since Sabean script is from Yemen, it explains why there is Sabean script on the map.

Francis Drake's skeleton in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is much different than the one from Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3.

Francis Drake's leitmotif throughout the series is entitled "Sir Francis Drake" and was composed by Greg Edmonson. It features prominently throughout Drake's Fortune and Drake's Deception.

It is very strange that, more than four hundred years after his death, Drake's facial hair remains on his face.

The literal translation of Drake's motto, is "Thus, from small beginnings, Great Things Come."